Is Yeshua (Jesus) God?
We are often asked if we believe that Yeshua is God. Some are willing to accept Him as a good teacher or a prophet, but they draw the line at calling Him "God". In one of my previous articles, I made the case that if Yeshua were just a good man, the atonement would be of no effect (see the page entitled - Messiah and Atonement). Yeshua is called many things in the Bible. John 1:1 calls Yeshua "God". Other portions call Him the "Son of Man" or the "Son of God". In Revelation 1:8, God says of Himself "I am the Alpha (first letter of the Greek alphabet) and the Omega (last letter of the Greek alphabet)" and in Revelation 22:13, Yeshua says of Himself "I am the Alpha and the Omega". Isaiah 52:13 calls the Suffering Servant (i.e. the Messiah Yeshua) "Ram v'nisa" ("high and exalted"), these are terms reserved for God (Isaiah 6:1). An additional verse that alludes to the identity of Yeshua with God is from Zechariah 12:10 (written about 500 years before Yeshua):
"I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced ; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn." (NIV)
The obvious speaker here is God…Why then does He say that they will look on "Me whom they have pierced"? How can God be pierced unless Yeshua, the pierced One (see Revelation 1:7) was God as the "Son of Man"? How do we reconcile these and many other verses equating Yeshua with God with verses that speak of Yeshua as praying to God or not having full knowledge of all things (Matthew 24:36)? How are we to make sense of His identity? To begin with, let me say that we don't need to, in fact we can't, make full sense of God. We receive in faith what He has made clear to us. We cannot study God as we could a rock or a flower and come away with scientific facts. God is above science and beyond all created things. He is even beyond our own ability to understand.
However, there are certain things that the Scriptures make clear and to which our own spiritual experience with God attests. The first is this, that Yeshua is indeed God. The verses cited above speak to this. The understanding of God's character of love, that He Himself and not a secondary agent, bears the brunt of our sin in the most perfect atoning work also attests to this. In addition, we see the precedent set in the Tanakh (Old Testament) of God relating to mankind in various forms (see the "Angel of the Lord" that is called by the name of God and eats lunch with Abraham in Genesis 18, or the burning bush of Exodus 3 for examples).
What then do we do with the Scriptures that speak of Yeshua praying to God (does God pray to God?) or to His not having full knowledge of all things? We must remember that while Yeshua was fully God, God was not fully represented by Yeshua. In other words, Yeshua was totally God, but not all that is God could have walked the earth. This is an obvious statement if you think about it. When God spoke to Moses in the burning bush wasn't He still in the heights of heaven as well? When God spoke to Abraham as the Angel of the Lord, wasn't He still holding the universe together in its every facet in every location? So, Yeshua is fully God, but the fullness of God is more than the One the disciples ate and drank with. Could anyone have endured the fullness of the majesty of God? Of course not. "No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known." John 1:18.
Consider also, Yeshua's prayer in John 17:5 "And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed." Yeshua as He walked the earth knew many of the limitations of all men. He was the perfect representation of God, but He was also a man. He did not walk among mankind in the fullness of His glory. As the One who put aside His glory for a time to lovingly teach us and bear our sins, He had many of the needs of mankind - the need to eat and drink, the need to sleep, the need to feel comfort in fear, and the need to pray. It is this idea that the writer of the book of Hebrews is so excited about. That God Himself should put aside for a time His glory, call us His brothers and sisters (Hebrews 2:11, 12), and make atonement for us. After atonement was made, His prayer for the Father to receive again the glory He at in the beginning came to pass.
In His death for sin, we die to sin.
In His resurrection, we are resurrected.
In His glorification, we are glorified. (See Romans 6)
All of this through the act of God ("they will on Me whom they have pierced") and not a secondary agent, a good man, an angel, or a lesser deity.
Hebrews 2:14-17
Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.
You can rest and be assured of your salvation because your Savior is none other than God. God descended His throne and laid aside His glory to be your salvation. You are greatly loved.
Be blessed,
Rabbi Josh
We are often asked if we believe that Yeshua is God. Some are willing to accept Him as a good teacher or a prophet, but they draw the line at calling Him "God". In one of my previous articles, I made the case that if Yeshua were just a good man, the atonement would be of no effect (see the page entitled - Messiah and Atonement). Yeshua is called many things in the Bible. John 1:1 calls Yeshua "God". Other portions call Him the "Son of Man" or the "Son of God". In Revelation 1:8, God says of Himself "I am the Alpha (first letter of the Greek alphabet) and the Omega (last letter of the Greek alphabet)" and in Revelation 22:13, Yeshua says of Himself "I am the Alpha and the Omega". Isaiah 52:13 calls the Suffering Servant (i.e. the Messiah Yeshua) "Ram v'nisa" ("high and exalted"), these are terms reserved for God (Isaiah 6:1). An additional verse that alludes to the identity of Yeshua with God is from Zechariah 12:10 (written about 500 years before Yeshua):
"I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced ; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn." (NIV)
The obvious speaker here is God…Why then does He say that they will look on "Me whom they have pierced"? How can God be pierced unless Yeshua, the pierced One (see Revelation 1:7) was God as the "Son of Man"? How do we reconcile these and many other verses equating Yeshua with God with verses that speak of Yeshua as praying to God or not having full knowledge of all things (Matthew 24:36)? How are we to make sense of His identity? To begin with, let me say that we don't need to, in fact we can't, make full sense of God. We receive in faith what He has made clear to us. We cannot study God as we could a rock or a flower and come away with scientific facts. God is above science and beyond all created things. He is even beyond our own ability to understand.
However, there are certain things that the Scriptures make clear and to which our own spiritual experience with God attests. The first is this, that Yeshua is indeed God. The verses cited above speak to this. The understanding of God's character of love, that He Himself and not a secondary agent, bears the brunt of our sin in the most perfect atoning work also attests to this. In addition, we see the precedent set in the Tanakh (Old Testament) of God relating to mankind in various forms (see the "Angel of the Lord" that is called by the name of God and eats lunch with Abraham in Genesis 18, or the burning bush of Exodus 3 for examples).
What then do we do with the Scriptures that speak of Yeshua praying to God (does God pray to God?) or to His not having full knowledge of all things? We must remember that while Yeshua was fully God, God was not fully represented by Yeshua. In other words, Yeshua was totally God, but not all that is God could have walked the earth. This is an obvious statement if you think about it. When God spoke to Moses in the burning bush wasn't He still in the heights of heaven as well? When God spoke to Abraham as the Angel of the Lord, wasn't He still holding the universe together in its every facet in every location? So, Yeshua is fully God, but the fullness of God is more than the One the disciples ate and drank with. Could anyone have endured the fullness of the majesty of God? Of course not. "No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known." John 1:18.
Consider also, Yeshua's prayer in John 17:5 "And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed." Yeshua as He walked the earth knew many of the limitations of all men. He was the perfect representation of God, but He was also a man. He did not walk among mankind in the fullness of His glory. As the One who put aside His glory for a time to lovingly teach us and bear our sins, He had many of the needs of mankind - the need to eat and drink, the need to sleep, the need to feel comfort in fear, and the need to pray. It is this idea that the writer of the book of Hebrews is so excited about. That God Himself should put aside for a time His glory, call us His brothers and sisters (Hebrews 2:11, 12), and make atonement for us. After atonement was made, His prayer for the Father to receive again the glory He at in the beginning came to pass.
In His death for sin, we die to sin.
In His resurrection, we are resurrected.
In His glorification, we are glorified. (See Romans 6)
All of this through the act of God ("they will on Me whom they have pierced") and not a secondary agent, a good man, an angel, or a lesser deity.
Hebrews 2:14-17
Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.
You can rest and be assured of your salvation because your Savior is none other than God. God descended His throne and laid aside His glory to be your salvation. You are greatly loved.
Be blessed,
Rabbi Josh